Leverage constitutional amendment to develop S’West, DAWN Commission urges govs

The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission (DAWN) on Thursday, appealed to the South-West governors to take advantage of the constitutional amendment signed by President Muhammadu Buhari to allow states to licence, generate, transmit, and distribute electricity and railway from the exclusive legislative list and develop the region.

The Director-General, of DAWN, Seye Oyeleye, who stated this during the South-West Investment Promotion Agencies Conference in Akure, Ondo state capital, said the commission had commenced discussions with some foreign investors and partners to link about 44 cities of 667km by rail.

Speaking at a conference with the theme: “Powering South-West for productivity through increased Investment in Infrastructure: Power sector/ Rail transportation” said the development will allow the region to develop at its own pace saying the new wave of liberalisation is good for the growth of the country’s economy.

He, however, noted the need for political office holders to key into the system and create policies and strategic framework to ensure the implementation, strengthening of the base and leveraging the capacity of the national grid.

Oyeleye said the commission had also been carrying out preparation towards the railway project, which will boost the revenue of the states in the region by more than 50 per cent despite many encumbrances against it.

He said the DAWN will create a Community of Practice (CoP) for transport (rail) and energy that will hold a meeting in the next two weeks at the DAWN commission.

Speaking on the importance of the conference, Oyeleye said “The conference was organized in conjunction with the Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs).

” We had our first meeting last year in Lagos, and at that meeting, we decided that subsequently our meeting would be sector-focused and the Dawn Commission has been working on rail and power self-sufficiency for the region over the last few years.

“Indeed, the DAWN document that was launched over 10 years ago lists power and rail as the focal points for the development of western Nigeria.

“When we decided that the next meeting was going to be on power and rail, coupled with the fact that President Buhari has also now signed the bill, decentralizing it and making it possible for the states to do more in power and rail, it became a no-brainer for us.

“If we don’t develop our rail and our energy, within a short time with a population explosion, even investors will not stay in western Nigeria. They will be held in West Africa. So we need to be ready”

He said “The funding should not scare the states. Investors are ready to withdraw their funds once they think the states are serious and have created an enabling environment.

“Lagos has done a lot, and it has a lot of rail experts now. The five other states don’t need to reinvent the wheel. They should leverage what Lagos has done with the blue and red lines”

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